48 Years Ago: ‘The Beatles’ Animated Series Premieres

Actually, that’s not true, but it was 48 years ago — on Sept. 25, 1965 — that ABC first broadcast ‘The Beatles,’ a 30-minute Saturday morning cartoon that became an instant ratings smash for the network. Several years before they all lived in a yellow submarine (or so the song claimed), the legendary British rockers were first immortalized in animated glory, lending their music — but not their actual speaking voices — to the show.

The series used the music of the Beatles to frame the individual episodes, each of which centered around the completely made-up and fanciful adventures of the lads from Liverpool. Perhaps best known as the voice of Boris Badenov from ‘Rocky & Bullwinkle,’ actor Paul Frees voiced the characters of John Lennon and George Harrison, while Lance Percival provided the voices of Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr. Airing from 1965 until 1967 in its original run, and through 1969 in reruns, the show lasted for 39 total episodes that marked the first time an animated series had portrayed real, living people. The series’ executive producer, Al Brodax, and producer George Dunning would also be involved in the production and direction of ‘Yellow Submarine.’

According to the book ‘Beatletoons: The Real Story Behind the Cartoon Beatles,’ the musicians initially hated the show, but later embraced its campy portrayal of the period when they still sported mop tops and suits. “I still get a blast out of watching the Beatles cartoons on TV,” John Lennon said in 1972.

“I always kind of liked [the cartoons]. They were so bad or silly that they were good, if you know what I mean,” George Harrison said in 1999. “And I think the passage of time might make them more fun now.”

‘The Beatles’ series was re-broadcast in 1980 and again in 1987 by MTV, and later by the Disney Channel. Apple Corps, Ltd. purchased the rights to the show in the ’90s, and McFarlane Toys have released a line of Beatles figures based on the animated series. The series’ official web site states that despite popular demand, Apple has no immediate plans to release the show in official DVD versions, though other DVD versions exist.

Welcome back to 103.7 The Hawk

It appears that you already have an account created within our VIP network of sites on . To keep your points and personal information safe, we need to verify that it's really you. To activate your account, please confirm your password. When you have confirmed your password, you will be able to log in through Facebook on both sites.

*Please note that your points, prizes and activities will not be shared between programs within our VIP network.

Welcome back to 103.7 The Hawk

It appears that you already have an account on this site associated with . To connect your existing account just click on the account activation button below. You will maintain your existing VIP profile. After you do this, you will be able to always log in to http://kmhk.com using your original account information.